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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8095000 | Camera system In a camera system according to the present invention, a lens controller obtains an exposure synchronizing signal that is generated by a camera controller from a camera body, causes a configuration formed of a first encoder, a second encoder and a counter to detect ... | 01/10/2012 |
| 8059955 | Image pickup apparatus and method and apparatus for manufacturing the same An image pickup apparatus includes an optical system, a detector, and an image processor. The detector picks up an object image that passes through the optical system. The image processor performs a predetermined process for an object image signal obtained from the ... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8041205 | Electronic camera An electronic camera includes an imaging device. The imaging device includes an imaging surface capturing an object scene through a focus lens, and produces an object scene image in a designated cycle. When a shutter button is half-depressed, an adjuster adjusts a p... | 10/18/2011 |
| 7957634 | Circuit for calibrating focus position of optical module and calibrating method thereof A circuit for calibrating a focus position of an optical module includes a calibration signal generating unit and a focus position adjusting unit. The calibration signal generating unit is utilized for generating a calibration signal according to a first focus signa... | 06/07/2011 |
| 7885528 | System and method for focusing a charge coupled device lens on a selected surface of an object A positioning system and method for focusing a charge coupled device (CCD) lens on a selected surface of an object to be measured is provided. The positioning system and method moves the CCD lens downwards to approximate an estimate Z-axis coordinate of the CCD lens... | 02/08/2011 |
| 7835637 | Predictive focus value calculation for image capture devices Techniques are described for predictive focus value calculation within image capture devices. Image capture devices may include digital still cameras and digital video cameras. The techniques include performing an auto-focus process within an image capture device by... | 11/16/2010 |
| 7769287 | Image taking apparatus and image taking method An aspect of the present invention provides an image taking apparatus comprising an imaging device which takes an image of a subject, an imaging instruction device for inputting an imaging instruction to take the image of the subject, a face detection device which d... | 08/03/2010 |
| 7747158 | Photographing apparatus and focusing control method A photographing apparatus comprises: a photographing device which takes an image of a subject; a focusing control device which controls the focusing status of the photographing device in response to an input of a focusing instruction; a focusing judgment device whic... | 06/29/2010 |
| 7697831 | Auto-focus with lens vibration An improved approach to focusing a camera is provided. In one embodiment, a method of adjusting a focus of a camera includes translating a lens to a first position. The lens is vibrated relative to the first position, and a first image is captured on an image sensor... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7634188 | Method and apparatus for calculating a focus metric A method comprises receiving a focusing image and shifting the focusing image to obtain a shifted focusing image. In the method, a focus metric of the focusing image is calculated from the focusing image and the shifted focusing image, where the focus metric is conf... | 12/15/2009 |
| 7620311 | Auto-focus apparatus. image-capture apparatus, and auto-focus method An auto-focus apparatus including an evaluation value calculator periodically calculating evaluation values using high frequency components of image signals in a specific region of a subject image, a distance measurement unit measuring a distance to a subject and ou... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7620310 | Camera having an autofocus system An AF camera includes a focusing lens group; an autofocus system which performs a searching process for detecting an in-focus position by moving the focusing lens group within a predetermined searching range to move the focusing lens group to the in-focus position; ... | 11/17/2009 |
| 7577351 | Image data processing method and apparatus A method for automatic focus for an image capture device comprising a lens, the method comprising, for a first lens position, processing image data generated at a plurality of local focus positions of the lens in order to generate first metric data representing a fo... | 08/18/2009 |
| 7565074 | Camera having a focus adjusting system A camera includes a focus adjusting system; first and second switches for a focus adjusting system and an exposure device; and a controller. If the second switch is operated before the focusing lens group reaches a specified focal length position, the search operati... | 07/21/2009 |
| 7515820 | Image capture device with automatic focusing function In a digital camera, a focus lens is moved at a low speed between a timing at which a shutter key is half pressed and a timing at which the shutter key is fully pressed to detect a focused position. When the shutter key is fully pressed by a user before the focus le... | 04/07/2009 |
| 7440690 | Focus detection apparatus and control method thereof An output from an auto focus sensor is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converting section, and an output from the A/C converting section is stored in a memory section. Further, a second AF arithmetic section is used to concurrently execute a plurality of f... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7421195 | Apparatus for acquiring focussing information and method of acquiring focusing information A storage unit is configured to store beforehand a table that shows a relation between spread parameters and command values supplied to a control unit to acquire a focused image of an object, and information that designates a command value corresponding to an inflec... | 09/02/2008 |
| 7412159 | Image pickup apparatus and defocus amount correction value calculation method An image pickup apparatus, in which a light is projected toward a physical object by projection means, and based on the reflected light by the physical object of the light, a defocus amount is detected (steps S2003 to S2008) by the first focus detectio... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7405762 | Camera having AF function A camera having an electronic image pickup element and a distance-measuring circuit that uses light signals obtained from light images of a plurality of distance-measuring areas set in a photographing screen to select a main subject and measure the distance to the s... | 07/29/2008 |
| 7365790 | Autofocus system for an image capturing apparatus A digital camera 100 includes a photographic optical system (21) for projecting an image of a subject; a CCD (24) for converting the projected image into an image signal and outputting it; a focus driving system (25) which changes a focus... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7352477 | Two dimensional position detecting device A two-dimensional position detecting device includes a movable member which relatively moves parallel to a stationary member; a light source and a two-dimensional position sensor which are fixed to one and the other of the stationary member and the movable member, r... | 04/01/2008 |
| 7301579 | Imaging apparatus An AF controlling unit (83) starts an outside light AF operation controlled by an outside AF unit (81) by a half-pressing of a shutter release button (61), and a change over between the outside AF operation and a CCDAF operation controlled by a ... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7130536 | Electronic camera comprising an automatic focus device using a phase-difference sensor and method thereof An electronic image pick-up apparatus acquires auto-focus data from each of an AF sensor module and an image sensor disposed in conjugate positions in a test mode, stores data on any relative deviation between those items of auto-focus data and drives a photographic... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7116903 | Camera with automatic focusing device An automatic focusing device for camera is provided which makes it possible to sequentially photograph a large number of frames while ensuring a high focusing accuracy. A first focusing unit carries out a first focusing operation. After the first focusing unit carri... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7079187 | Focus adjusting apparatus and focus adjusting method An apparatus, such as a focus adjusting apparatus, includes a focus adjusting system, a driving device which drives the focus adjusting system from one of a state in which a near-distance object is in focus and a state in which a far-distance object is in focus to t... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7079763 | Focus control apparatus, image sensor, program and storage medium A digital camera has distance measurement zone setting means (12) for dividing distance to a subject into a plurality of distance measurement zones; distance measurement zone selection means (13) for selecting a distance measurement zone to be scanned;... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7058294 | Passive autofocus system for a camera An autofocus system for a camera includes a contrast focus detector which detects a position of a focusing lens group, at which the contrast of an object image reaches a maximum as a contrast in-focus position; a phase-difference focus detector which separates the o... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7024107 | Focusing device and method An automatic focus adjustment device has an image sensing element for converting an object optical image into an electrical signal, and outputting an image signal, a filter for extracting high-frequency components of the image signal obtained by the image sensing el... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7006140 | Digital still camera with shifting focus lens A digital still camera of the present invention has a photographing optical system, a body, an image sensor, a half mirror, a phase difference focus detector. The image sensor is arranged in the body and backward of the photographing optical system along an optical ... | 02/28/2006 |
| 7003224 | Automatic focusing device and method of controlling the same An automatic focusing device for camera is provided which makes it possible to sequentially photograph a large number of frames while ensuring a high focusing accuracy. A first focusing unit carries out a first focusing operation. After the first focusing unit carri... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6928241 | Autofocus apparatus and method and image sensing apparatus An object of this invention is to provide an autofocus apparatus and method, and an image sensing apparatus capable of shortening the AF time without decreasing the AF precision even when the total number of acquired AF evaluation signals is large. To achieve this o... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6895181 | Camera and distance measuring method thereof The present invention provides a camera where a focusing position of a taking lens is adjusted as a first focus adjustment by a CPU, and as a second focus adjustment lower in accuracy but higher at a speed than the first focus adjustment. An object image is picked u... | 05/17/2005 |
| 6826363 | Automatic focusing device and method of controlling the same An automatic focusing device for camera is provided which makes it possible to sequentially photograph a large number of frames while ensuring a high focusing accuracy. A first focusing unit carries out a first focusing operation. After the first focusing unit carri... | 11/30/2004 |
| RE38621 | OPTICAL DISK HAVING A PARTICULAR FORMAT TO STORE USER-SELECTED DATA, SUCH AS COMPRESSED VIDEO DATA OR COMPUTED FILES, INCLUDING A DEDICATED TOC REGION AND AN APPLICATION TOC TO IDENTIFY THE VIDEO COMPRESSION FORMAT An optical disk having a diameter less than 140 mm and, a thickness of 1.2 mm±0.1 mm, with a plurality of record tracks having data recorded thereon as embossed pits representing information and exhibiting a track pitch in the range between 0.646 μm and 1.05 μm; ... | 10/12/2004 |
| 6801296 | Image processing method, image processing apparatus and image recording apparatus An image processing method to conduct an image processing on image signals indicating an image obtained through photographing by a photographing apparatus for generating image signals for output. The image processing method has a determining process to determine a c... | 10/05/2004 |
| 6763187 | Camera apparatus with an auto focusing function A digital camera (1) has an outside light AF and a contrast type AF which is capable of selecting either outside light AF or contrast type AF based on a command for an operation by a photographer, and has a photographing mode which carries out a focusing by t... | 07/13/2004 |
| 6739767 | Image processing method, image processing apparatus and image recording apparatus An image processing method to conduct an image processing on image signals indicating a photographed image for generating image signals for output, having the steps of: detecting an area in the photographed image where the mixed ratio of flashlight to environment li... | 05/25/2004 |
| 6738197 | Autofocusing apparatus An autofocusing apparatus and method which prevents erroneously detecting a focus position due to a contrast pseudo peak. The system extracts an image component from an image signal and computes a contrast value. On the basis of the number of edges and the edge widt... | 05/18/2004 |
| 6549874 | Distance measuring device A distance measuring device is provided with regulating circuit for removing offset voltages. Before conducting distance measurement, the regulating circuit outputs a reference voltage on the basis of offset voltages of an amplifier and an integrating cir... | 04/15/2003 |
| 6501085 | Distance-measuring apparatus A distance-measuring apparatus is arranged to project light toward an object at a distance to be measured, receive reflected light from the object, and detect the distance to the measured object through arithmetic operation and integration. In the distanc... | 12/31/2002 |
